Pawl-and-ratchet mechanism for harvesters



(No Model.)

No. 293,767. Patented Pebfl9, 1884 INVENTOR L6wz}s' z'llar N, PETERS. Phon-Ulhogmphor. Wahinghu. D. C

j I; fLEwIs MILLER, or Axiion, OHIO.

PAWL-AND- m e M EQHj A N IS M F0 R HARVE/STERS.

: srncrrrc 'rron ai in To all whom it mayconcern: i Be it known that l, LEWISMILLER, ofAkron, in the county of Summit and? State of Ohio, have invented certain -newand useful Im-f provements in Pawl-and-Ratchet Mechanism. forHarvesters; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the same, referencebeinghad to the accompanying drawings, forming part-of this specification, in which- 7 Figure 1 represents a vertical sectional View of a driving-wheel and axle with my improvements applied thereto, the pawls being shown disengaged from the hub. Fig. 2 is a sectional.

U view taken on the line as m, Fig. 1. Fig; 3 is an edge view of part -VV and attachments, and Fig. 4 a detailed View, showing one of the pawls engaged with the hub.

This invention relates to improvements in harvesters; and it consists in certain novel improvementsin the backing-ratchets applied to the driving-wheels, whereby said ratchets can be thrown into or out of gear at will, and will be automatically retained in the position in which they are so adjusted, all as hereinafter described and claimed.

Referring to the drawings, W represents the hollow or concave inner end of the 'hubof the traction or driving wheel,having ribs or teeth 10, and cast on the periphery of the concave;' and W represents a circular plate which fits into said concave, it being fixed on the axle and provided with a hub to hold it steady. Its face adjacent to the hub W may be concave, if preferred. The edges of the plates W are slotted, as shown at w, obliquely to its radius and in a direction inclining forward or with the direction of the rotary movement of the parts on the axle. With each slot (two, more or less) there is combined a-pawl, n2

' pivoted to the inner face of the plate, and

having a spur or arm, w, adapted to project throughthe slot, the form of; the slot'being such as to allow the spur or arm to move freely therein as the pawlswings on its pivot.- The inner side (toward the center of the shaft) of each pawl is provided with an elongated central hub, 10, terminating in a notch or recess, 10 In connection with each pawl there is employed a flat spring, 12, secured to the same plateflV. The free endof the spring is provided with an angle or projection, a, which ,iaartptrieais mat :No. 293,767, dated February 19', 113134. I Application filed April 1l 183. (No model.)

5 bears against the elongated hub w, tohold the pawl in engagement with the series 1 of. teeth or'ribs w. The'parts are so proportioned and adjusted that when the pins or spurs 1'0 are near the outer end, of the slots wthe springs 1g bear against the enlarged part 10* of thepawl and 'press the latter outward against .the

ratchetteetliwybut by moving the arms or spurs 11f fd'ownward or inward to the bottom of the slots w the bearings or projections 11 of the springs pass off of the enlarged part w and enter the recess at its end, where they no longer .pressthe pawl outward, but, on the contrary, bear in a direction toward the pivots of the pawls, or even in lines which,extended,would pass between said pivots and the main axle, and thereby serve to hold the pawls by frictional contact out of engagement with the ratchet-teeth. Thus it will be seen that the springs perform the double function of holding the pawls to the ratchets whentheir engagement is desired andof holding them away from the ratchets when their engagement is not desired. The arms 10 projecting through the plates W, enable the attendant at any time to put the pawls into or out .of engagement without removing the wheels or disturbing any other parts. In going to or from the field l he can readily ungear the entire mechanism by means of these arms w, leaving the traction-wheels to run loosely'ontheir axle time serves to put the parts all in gear by the simple operation of moving the arms w outward .in' their slots.

, To prevent the springs from getting out of adjustment with relation to the pawls, the latter are provided with a thin lug or blade, 12, which fits against the face of the disk W between thespring and the disk, and which, moving with the pawl,keeps the spring in the proper relation thereto.

I am notaware that this contrivance or its functional equivalent has ever before my invention thereof been known or used in machines, and Itherefore do not limit it to harvestersonly, but desire to protect it for use in all kinds of machinery to which it may be applicable. An inferior equivalent of the construction of Y the spring-pawls above described may be obtained by omitting the arms 10 and moving the pawls by inserting a fork and on arriving at the field a moments to embrace them or a pointed instrument to enter a hole or cavity in their side. In such case any suitable guide or stop may be provided to guide and limit the movement of the pawls from one adjustment to the other. Nor do I limit this part of my invention to the locking of the pawls out of gear by means of the springs, inasmuch as an independent lock may be applied to hold the pawls out of gear, although for simplicity and convenience I prefer to lock the pawls out of gear by the springs as well as to hold them in gear by the same means.

The particular machine to which my hereindescribed improvements are especially applied is the one for which application for Letters Patent was filed by me on the 31st day of December,187 9, and of which this present case is a division.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new-- 1.. The combination of the pawl provided with the elongated hnb or lug, the plate to which it is pivoted, and the spring provided with the angle or shoulder and acting on the pawl-lug to hold the pawl in either of two positions according to adjustment, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

2. The combination of the rotated ratchet, the shaft upon which it is loosely mounted, the pawl-carrier fastened to said shaft, the adj ustable pawl,and the spring by which the pawlis held in or out of action, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

3. The combination of the slotted pawl-carrier, the shaft to which it is keyed, the rotating hub having the internally toothed peripheral flange and loosely mounted on said shaft, the pawl, the pin or arm secured thereto and projecting through the slot of the pawlcarrier, the pawl-lug, and the spring provided with the angle or shoulder and acting on the pawl-lug, substantially as described, for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.

1 LEXVIS MILLER. Vitnesses:

O. J. ROBINSON, A. Onn'riss. 

